Editorials

Colorado hemp flag to fly above the nation's Capitol dome on the 4th

WASHINGTON — A Colorado-made Old Glory created from hemp will fly high above the nation's Capitol on the most patriotic day of the year thanks to an Eastern Plains farmer who is more than passionate about getting the industrial stuff legalized nationally.

The flag gets one day of air above the Capitol dome before another flag, meaningful to someone else, replaces it the next day.

But the Fourth of July, when hundreds of thousands throng to the National Mall to see fireworks and listen to a free concert, is arguably good real estate to promote the cause.

"I thought it was a great act of symbolism," said Michael Bowman, who grows corn in drought-ravaged Wray and wants to replace some of his fields with industrial hemp to save water.

Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, a fierce advocate of pushing marijuana decriminalization at the federal level, held the flag on the U.S. House of Representatives floor a few weeks ago during a debate on an amendment to legalize industrial hemp.

Though the amendment passed, with bipartisan support from most of the Colorado delegation, it ultimately did not get sent to the Senate because the House killed the farm bill.

Three states have industrial hemp laws on the books: Colorado, Vermont and Kentucky.

Bowman plans to take his hemp stars and stripes to fly above the state capitols in those three states as a tribute to the crop, which he's quick to point out has no THC and could not make anyone high.

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He was unsure when he would be able to bring the flag back to Colorado and get it atop Denver's golden dome.

"George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp," Polis said. "The first American flag was made of hemp. The U.S. Department of Agriculture produced a "Hemp for Victory" video in 1942."